Method of repairing machine tools and slide construction therefor



Feb. 1, 1944. O H 'U HQR 2,340,450

METHOD OFREPAIRING MACHINE TOOLS AND SLIDE CONSTRUCTION THEREFOR Filed March 20, 1942 L m. E. INVENTOR Harvey ,Z ozzsc/zar:

Patented Febil 1944 METHOD or REPAIRING MAonnyE rooLs AND SLIDE CONSTRUCTION :rnnnnroa T OFFICE Harvey Bouschor, Detroit, Mich. Applicationilflarch 20, 1942,. Serial No. 435,502

" sprai s; (c1. 29"148) This invention relates to the repairi recon struction or re-building of certain types oijrnachine tools and'particularly the saddle and-slide or equivalent constructions thereof, the principal object being the provision of a method of repairing or reconstructing such saddle and slide constructions so that they will co-act with one another in an accurate manner and will remain operative for a longerperiod of time and will with stand the effects of wear better than in the original machine, togetherwith a form of construction resulting from uch repairor reconstruc- -'tion.-

. Objects of the invention include the provision of almethod of repairing a machine 'tool ha'vingapair of parts one slid'ably supported by theQother and; in whichm ovement of one of the parts transversely of; theirdirection of movement be-: tween-it-andtheother of said parts is intended to' be prevented bymeans of contacting surfaces on the two parts andby means of plates secured to one 'Ofjthe partsgand received in rectangular-1y sectionedgrooves in the 'iother of said parts togetherg'witha gi-harranged between thetwo parts adjacenteachzof'. the plates; comprising machining that par't'having the rectangularly sectioned grooves therein'to change such grooves into angularor Vlike'confor'mation, and replacing each plate :anditsi cooperating gib by an angularly sectionedmember receivable in the cooperating of said re machined grooves; the provision of a method of repairing machine tools as above described in which means are provided for adjusting the angularlysectioned guide member- 1sterally with" respect'to the direction of movement between the relatively movable parts; the provision; in a me'thodof 'I'paiiihg or re-building a machine tool as above described, or the step of plugging the adjusting screws on one side of the parts to prevent access thereto by the usual operator of the machine; and the provision, in a method of repairing or re-building a machine tool as above described, of the step of providing such angular guide members of greater length than i the length of that part in which the other of said parts is slidably mounted.

Further objects of the invention include the provision of a machine tool including a pair of thereof; and an angularly sectioned guide bar b'eingiixedto each sideof such other .part andbeing engaged'within each said angularly sectioned plicable;

Fig; 2 is a fragmentarmperspective sectionalview illustrating thesaddle and slide construcgroove, a pluralityof screws being pr0videdbetween each of. said guide means and such other. part in spaced relation over the length oflthe-w H latter to. permit accurate adjustment of the guide part laterally. ,oi the direction of movement of. said one part in such, other part, and additional means being provided for rigidly locking said. guides, in laterally adjusted position; and the. provision of a construction as above described in. which the guides project longitudinally beyond the end of such other parts to furnish an additional support for said one partwhen projected,

beyond the other part.

The above being among the objects of the present invention the same consists in certain steps or combinations of steps of operation andcertain.

novel features of construction and combinations of parts to be hereinafter-described with refer-t enceto the accompanying drawing,- and ,then claimed, having the above and otherlobjectsin.

view. 7

In the accompanying drawing whicliillustratesa form of machine tool to which the present inv vention is applicable both in its'original and itsrepaired or re-built condition, I a

Fig. 1 is a fragmentaryperspective view of aturret lathe or screw machine of the type to invention is generally ap-- which the present tion of the machine shown in Fig. 1 in the form originallyfurnishedbythe manufacturer, taken asnon the line 2---'-2 thereof;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating the saddle and slide construction after the same has been repaired or re-built in accordancewith the overhanging end of the slide,

The present invention is generally lapplicableto machine tools having one partslidably supported by another part. It'is particularly applicable for use in connectionwith a saddle and slide or ram construction of anumber of turret lathes or screw machines that are now, and have fora substantial number of years, been produced in quantities, and for thatreason such a screw machine is emthe present invention, its application to other ypes and constructions of machine tools thereby being made apparent to those skilled in the art.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, the turret lathe or screw machine there shown includes a bed l supported from the floor by suitable legs l2. At one end the bed It] is provided with a pair of bearing supports or standards l4 formed integrally therewith projecting upwardly therefrom and these rotatably support a spindle (not shown) on the forward end of which a'suitable chuck I6 is suitably secured. The particular chuck shown is a collet chuck although it will be appreciated that any suitable type of chuck may be employed to correspond to thecharacter of the particular work to be operatedupon. The particular type of machine shown is belt driven,

and, accordingly, a belt cone I8 is supported on the spindle between the supports I 4 in.a conventional manner. The upper surface of the bed to the right of the forward supports 44 as showninFig. .1 is provided-with a pair of .conventional ways 20 upon which a carriage 22 is mountedjforslidable movement toward and from the chuck it and carries'a cross-slide '24 which is adapted to carry suitable tools forperform'ing certain operations on the work supportedin the chuck l6. On the rear or righthand end Of the ways 20 a saddle 25 is slidably supported for movement toward and from'thechuck It. This is the particular part of the mechanism to which .Qhe present invention is particularly adaptable.

As illustrated inFigs.1 and '2 the saddle 26 slide ably supports a slide or ram28 thereonjformovement toward and from the chuck 'I6 and such movement of the slide or ram '28 on the saddle 26 is controlled in a conventional manner by means of a handwheel 3!]. Suitable meanslnot shown) are provided for'lccking the saddle .25 in slidably adjusted position on the ways '20.

The construction of the saddle zdandslidle or ram 28 illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is conventional and as illustrated bestin Fig. 2 the saddle 26 is of cast construction and generally of H- section, the lower portions of the legs of the H straddling and engaging the sides of the ways 20 and the cross-bar of the H resting against the upper faces of the ways 20. For the purpose of resisting wear at this'point wear bars 32 are set into-the cross-bar of the H for contact with the upper face of the ways 20. The upper face of the bare of=the H is centrally-relieved as at 34' to provide a pair of longitudinally extending laterally spaced way surfaces 36- on either side there of. The ram28 which is of generally rectangular section over the greater part of its length is provided .along the outer margins of its lower surfaces with complementary'surfaces 38 which contact the way surfaces .36 and, therefore, serve to support the weight of the ram or slidel-B on the saddle 2G.

The slide or ram 28 is,.as indicated in Fig.2, of less width than the spacingof the :legs .of the H of the saddle 25 and interposed between the inner face of each-leg of theH of the saddle above the bar thereof and theopposed side :fflCB- Of the ram or slide 28;is a gib 40, these gibs serving to take up side play between the saddle and the slide orram. The gibs 40 are conventionally tapered in the direction of their length so that byshifting one or the otherlongitudinallythe lateral clearance of the ram 28 in the saddle 26 may be increased or decreased. The gibs 40 thus afford a means for taking up the wear occurringbetween the sides of the ram and the .saddle 2,6. The gibs it-may 'both taper in the same direction or the taper of one may be reversed from the other, both arrangements being conventionally employed. Conventional means are provided for adjusting the gibs 40 longitudinally of the saddle 26 and for locking them in adjusted position.

In order to maintain the surfaces 36 and 38 in contact with each other and thus prevent the ram or slide 28 from tipping under the stress of a cutting operation, a saddle plate 42 is secured by bolts suchas e and nuts 46-to the upper edge of eaohleg of the H of the saddlei2fi. These sad.- dle plates 42 are of rectangular section and project inwardly beyond the corresponding gib 4t and are closelyv received in rectangularly sectioned grooves Afl formed in the side faces of the ram or slide 28.

"The forward or lefthand end of the slide or ram 28 asillustrated in Figs. 1 and 4 is increased in height as at 50 and provided with a flat top face upon which a turret 52 is rotatably m0unted,'the turret 52 having a plurality of side faces54 each centrally provided with a toolreceiving opening U SE-therein in each of'which'a-tool may be removably received. One form of external turning'tool is indicated at 58 in Fig. l as being supported inoneof'theseopenings.

In turret lathes orscrewmachines ofthetype shown and above described tools other than axially operating 'tools such as drills, reamers, or the like -which are carried by the turret 52 are arranged to contact thework-either along the upper or the lower surface thereof, this being for the reason-thatin such positionitwill not the work. Inactual practice the ram or slide 28-is:projectedtoward-the work to such a distance that the turret '52 often projects Whollybeyond the end of the saddle :25 and'thus a relatively reatoverhang is created between thepoint of contact of the tool with the work andthe front edge of the saddle 26. As a result, a slight amount of Wear between the surfaces 36 and 38 and between :the saddle .plate 48 and :the ram or slide 28-will-be multiplied at the point of contact of ihol ool-with'the work and Where the'tool is engaging theupper or lower surfaces will permit an amount of movement thereof in a vertical direction which makes it impossible to holdthe dimensions of the work being established bythe tool within accurately predetermined limits. It will be appreciated that 'with'the construction shownin Fig. 2-anywear occurring between the surfaces referred to cannot be'taken up by .any

adjustment as no adjustmentfor this purposeis provided and in such case where the wear-becomes excessive it is necessary to re-machine these surfaces and re-locate them to cure the evil.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 2 any wear occurring between the sides of the :ram or slide 28 and the saddle 26 can, of course, .be taken up .by adjustment of the gibs 40, but it will'be appreciated by those skilled in the .art that in taking up such lateral wear by means of the gibs 40 unless both gibs are taken-up equally the ram or slide 28 may be shifted to one side .or the other whereas it is of extreme importance, particularly where. tool carried by the turret 52 is a drill or other boring tool, that the axis of the tool'bemaintainedin exact con-'1 centricity with the,ai risof-,the" lathe or screw machine spindle. Experience has'shown -that the op rators of such machines while skilled in the operation of the machine itself, are ordinarily not skilled in the construction and adjustment of the machine and often'attempt' to take up such side wear between the ram, and; th saddle themselves, and in doing this usually take up on one gib only with the result that the saddle 28 is shifted laterally by the adjustment which thus throws the centerline of the turret 52 out of alignment with the spindle, thereafter result-. ing in inaccurate work. l

Where wear occurs between the surfaces36 and 38 and between the saddle plate 42 and the grooves 48, the recommended procedurein-taking up such wea is to'disassemble the assembly and remqve m a r m-th rp s dse Oii g sa l 25- along those surfaces ,thereofcon, hich the saddle plates- 42 are received Usuallyin such sei it i t be ;W kma i 1 3 faces 36 and 3 8 must be re-scraped, the. grooves 48 ;.mu. ts rmachi e o squa t e? 1 9 d then be re -scraped, ,an d; the upper faces, ofthe saddle 26- which receive :the saddle plates 4.2.must be machined and scraped until the desirably small clearance is established between the worn surfaces. This operation is-a long, tedious and expensive job and because of the character of these surfaces and the inability to adjust them to take up yertical wear without going through the procedure above described, the necessity ofrepeating such procedures at frequent intervals will be piiaint. It is connection jwithleliminating the; disadvantages of I this" feature. of the construction 'described that thepresent invention deals-ext.

, n accordance with 'the presentinvention when the above described" wear; develops: between the saddle 26 and the ram or slide 28 to an extent requiring repair, instead of repairing the same in accordance with conventional practice as above described, the following procedure is carried out. The grooves 48 in the sides of the ram or slide 28 are rel-machined to form them into grooves of angular cross-sectional configuration and preferably so that such grooves now have a horizontal upper wall and a lower wallflared outwardly and downwardly." While such angular grooves thus machined in the sides of the ram or slide 28may, of. course, varyconsiderably in size andYcross-sectional configuration, it has been found most convenient to machine away each side' of the ram orslide zc'from the lower inner cornerTof' each groove 48; to the lower euter corse i the slide on the corresponding side the reof as along th dotted linesjfill shown in; Rig, 2, and to machine away the-upper wall of each groove 48 in parallelism with the original plane thereof as indicated by the dotted line 62 in Fig. 2. The new grooves thus formed are illustrated in Fig. 3 from which it will be seen that each is now provided with a horizontal upper wall 54, a short vertically directed inner wall 65, and an outwardly flared angular bottom wall The saddle plates 42 and the gibs 40 are discarded and in the place of'each saddle plate 42 and its associated gib' 4 0 ,is. substituted a part. which I prefer to term away bar Each way'bar 10 includes a head portion ngsubstantially complementary in size,','shape1and contour to the new grooves thus machihed'jin'thec'orresponding side ofthe ram or-slide '22, and an integrally formed outwardly projectingplate-lik'e' portion 14 which overlies the-upper ends of the legs'of' the" H of the saddle'26 in the same manher that the saddle plates 42 formerly were arranged. The' head 12 of each way bar 10 is -such that its angular face contacts the angular face 68 of the corresponding groove in the ram or slide 28 with those faces thereof complementaryto'the surfaces 64 and 66 of the grooves spaced from such faces s'oas to provide'clearance between them.

The same bolts and nuts 46 originally employed to clamp the saddle plates 42 to the saddle 26 may be employed for clamping the way bar Ill down onto'the saddle 2B, but in this case the ,holes 'lfiz inxthe plate portion 14 of each way" bar-10through'whichthe bolts 44 project are elongatedtra'nsversely50f the length of the way barf"). as illustrated in Fig. 3 so asto permit the way "'barlfl to be adjusted inwardlyand outwardly. :In'this respect it will be not'edand as clearlybrought out in Fig- 3 .that preferably thelower; outer wall of the head12 of each way bar: .101 "is provided with clearance between it and-theopposed face of the saddle 26. Adjusting screws 18 are threadedtlirough'openings drilled through the Upper portions of the legs of the saddle" 25 in perpendicular relationship with respect to the outer side faces thereof and bear against the lower outer face of the head I2 as illustrated inFig. 3 so as to enable the way bars I2 to be adjusted transversely of their length when the nuts 46 are loosened on the bolts 44-. A sufficient number of these screws I8 are provided along each side of the saddle 26 to preventany'possibility of the way bars 10 springing outwardly'between them, this being necessary if uniform clearance throughout is to beobtained.

"It w'illb'e'appreciatedthat in this re'const'ructing of: the saddle 26 and slide or ram 28' the surfaces136 and'38 thereof are re-Inachined and rescraped and the bearing surfaces between each way bar 10 and the rain or slide 28 are'accurately scraped intoplace. The screws '18 are the'nadjusted while the nuts 46 have been loosenedso as to bring the path of movement of the ram or slide 28 as determined thereby into exact parallelism with the axis of the lathe or screw machine spindle and to align the holes 56 in the turret 52 as much as possible with the axis of the lathe or screw machine spindle, and then the way bars 70 are locked in place. The holes 56 in the turret 52 are then re-bored by means of a tool suitably supported by the spindle of the lathe or screw machine and'are then re bushed to the proper size, thereby positivelyaligning the re-bushed holes" with the axis of the lathe or 'screw machineturreti i a} :4

In order to prevent -the machineoperator from attempting to make an adjustment of the way bar 'Hlhimself and thus possibly destroythe parallelis-ni of movement ofthe a p; slide 28 with the axis of the spindle of thelathe or screw machine without detection, it is preferred, andasillustrated in Fig. 3, that the screws 18, at least on one sidepf the saddle 26, be made shorter than the holes 80 in which they are received andrafter the proper adjustments of the way bars 10. have been made by those re-building this part'of theimachine, to plug the'outer ends .of theh'oles as at 82 on one side only of the saddle26, with amass of suitable material such as lead, sealing wax, or the like. Under such circumstances the machine operator cannot adjustthe waybarl0 onthat side of thesaddle 26fonjwhich' the holes 80 are plugged without escaping detection, butmay adjust fthe way'bar It-on the opposite side of the saddle to take up any wear that might develop between the saddle and the slide or ram. Such adjustment on the part of the machine operator cannot, however, disturb the parallelism of movementof the slide or rain with respect to the lathe or screw machine spindle as the undisturbed way bar will continue to maintain such parallelism. Should sufficient wear develop that adjustment of one way bar Hi only will displace the slide or ram 28 laterally of the saddle 25 to an undesirable degree, thenra skilled machine repairman may remove the plugs 82 and re-adjust the machine to accurately centralize the slide or ram 28 with respect to the spindle of the lathe or screw machine and then re-plug the holes to provide unauthorized'tamping with such readjustment.

It willbe appreciated that in thus re-constructing the saddle 2d and ram or slide '28 any wear which develops between the surfaces 36 and 38 andbetween the surfaces 68 and the opposed faces ofthe way bar TB which would permit any vertical movement of the ram or slide 28 with respect to the saddle 2E under the conditions first mentioned in connection with the conventional construction, may be, quickly and accurately taken'up by simply loosening the nuts 56 on that side of the saddle where the screws it are accessible, and threading such screws inwardly to effect a corresponding movement of thecorresponding way bar ill until all of such vertical movement is eliminated, upon which the nuts 46 may again be tightened up to lock such way bar in its newly adjusted position.

It will .be appreciated that such movement of the way bar not only serves to take up any vertical wear that may have occurred between the surfaces mentioned but also simultaneously serves to take up any wear which has developed between the surface 58 of each groove in the slide or ram 28 and the opposed surface of the way bar it, so that in this case the way bars 78 not only serve the same purposeas the gibs 46 of the original construction in taking up lateral wear between the saddle and the ram but additionally serve to take up any vertical wear which was impossible inthe original construction by any adjustment of parts but only by re-rnachim'ng those surfaces of the structure through which such vertical movement was controlled.

Because of the rigidity of the way bars 7i] it is possible to utilize them in a further manner not possible in the original construction. This is in connection with providing an additional support for the overhanging turret end of the slide or ram 28 when the latter is in its forwardmost position i and under which circumstances undesirable vertical give of the forward end of the ram or slide and the tools supported thereby is liable to develop even under minimum amounts of vertical clearance between the saddle and the slide or ram.

projecting end of the ram or slide and thereby provide additional support therefor tending to maintain it against a tendency toward vertical ive.

The holes I6 for the bolts 44 may be extended over the full length of the way bars It and inasmuch as such holes are equally spaced through out, should the forwardly projecting ends of the way bars "l0 interfere with the cross-slide 24 or any tools carried thereby in machining any particular part, they may be simply shifted rearwardly on the saddle 26 the required amount, or a sufficient length'of their forwardly projecting ends be simply sawed off to meet the particular condition. In any case it will be appreciated that by projecting the forward ends of the way bars It beyond the forward end of the saddle 26 as far as possible under any particular condition of operation, a material steadying effect on the forward end of the slide or ram 28 is obtained which permits more accuracyof machining to be obtained and heavier cuts to be employed.

It will be appreciated that the construction thus resulting from re-building the saddle and slide construction'of the original machine shown and-described is capable of being applied to such turret 'lathes or screw machines or to similar machine tools in the original manufacture with all of the attendant advantages above discussed, and it is, therefore, to be understood that the invention is not entirely limited to its application in the repairing or re-building of such machine tools but is also applicable to new equipment.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim by Letters Patent is: V

, 1. In the re-building of a machine tool of the class including a saddle and a slide having spaced cooperating pairs of coplanar way surfaces, gibs for taking up lateral wear between the saddle and the slide, agroove in each side of the slide with side walls parallel to the plane of said way surfaces and plates fixed'to the saddle engaged in the grooves, the steps of removing the plates and the gibs, re -machining the grooves to remove at least a portion .of the metal forming the lower wall of each thereof and thereby forming a downwardly and outwardly flared wall portion, and positioning 'a way bar between said saddle and said slide in place of each of said plates and its cooperating gibs with one face of said way bar in complementary engagement with respect to said flared Wall of said groove and having clearance between its upper face and the upper wall of said groove and with a portion of said way bar overlying an upper surface of the saddle, threading adjusting screws through a side of said saddle and into engagement with said way bar to force said way bar into engagement with said slide, and

projecting screw means through said portion of said way bar at an angle to said adjusting screws and into said saddle for locking said way bar in the position determined by said adjusting screws.

2. In the re-building of a machine tool of the class including a saddle and a slide having spaced cooperating pairs of coplanar way surfaces, gibs for taking up lateral wear betweenthe saddle and the slide, a groove in each side of the slide with side walls parallel to the plane of said way surfaces and plates fixed to the saddle engaged in the grooves, the .steps of removing the plates and the gibs, re-machining the grooves to remove at least a portion of the metal forming the lower wall of each thereof and thereby forming a downwardly and outwardly flared Wall portion, and positioning a way bar between said saddle and said slide in place of each of said plates and its cooperating gibs with one face of said way bar in complementary engagement with respect to said flared wall of said groove and having clearance between its upper face and the upper wall of said groove and with a portion of said way bar overlying an upper surface of the saddle, projecting a plurality of screws through each side of said saddle and into engaging relation with respect to said way bars to laterally position the said way bars with respect to said saddle, and releasably clamping said way bars in the adjusted position determined by said screws.

3. In the re-building of a machine tool of the class including a saddle and a slide having spaced cooperating pairs of coplanar way surfaces, gibs for taking up lateral wear between the saddle and the slide, a groove in each side of the slide with side walls parallel to the plane of said way surfaces and plates fixed to the saddle engaged in the grooves, the steps of removing the plates and the gibs, machining away each side of said slide from the inner lower corner of each of said grooves to approximately the lower edge of the corresponding side of said ram to thus provide an outwardly flaring wall at each side of the slide, replacing each said plate and its corresponding gib with a one-piece member including a head portion approximately corresponding in size, shape and contour with the re-machined groove in each side of said slide and the space formerly occupied by the inner edge of the corresponding saddle plate and the cooperating gib with one face thereof in engagement with the outwardly flared wall thus provided in the re-machined groove and having clearance with the remaining walls of the corresponding grooves, projecting a plurality of screws through the corresponding sides of said saddle and into contact with the corresponding of said way bars for eifecting transverse adjustment thereof, and locking said way bars against relative vertical movement with respect tosaid saddle and in laterally adjusted position by applying releasable holding means between said saddle and said way bars.

4. In the re-building of a machine tool of the class including a saddle and a slide having spaced cooperating pairs of coplanar way surfaces, gibs for taking up lateral wear between the saddle and the slide, a groove in each side of the slide with side walls parallel to the plane of said way surfaces and plates fixed to the saddle engaged in the grooves, the steps of removing the plates and the gibs, re-machining the grooves to remove at least a portion of the metal forming the lower wall of each thereof into a downwardly and outwardly flared wall portion, and positioning a way bar in place of each of said plates and its cooperating gibs with one face of said way bar of greater length than the length of said saddle in complementary engagement with respect to said flared wall of said groove and with a portion of said way bar overlying an upper surface of the saddle and with the excess length of said way bars projecting beyond the forward end of said saddle, threading adjusting screws through a side of said saddle and into engagement with said way bar to force said way bar into engagement with said slide, and projecting screw means through said portion of said way bar at an angle to said adjusting screws and into said saddle for locking said way bar in the position determined by said adjusting screws.

HARVEY H. BOUSCHOR. 

